Ohio Genealogical Society’s Writing Competition

OGS is sponsoring its second annual genealogical writing contest open to authors of genealogical and historical material. The contest is for articles dealing with Ohio history and genealogy, Ohio records groups, Ohioans who left to settle elsewhere and Ohio families. OGS welcomes articles ranging in size from 750 words up to 5,000 words, depending on the subject.

Authors may submit up to eight entries with a maximum of two entries in each of the following OGS journal categories: Ohio Genealogy News – concentrates on genealogical record groups, collections, research techniques, databases and websites related to Ohio genealogy and history, as well as articles about OGS, its Chapters and other genealogical news. Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly – publishes articles relating to the full spectrum of Ohio history and genealogy. Types of articles include case studies, abstracts and transcriptions of Ohio related materials, and Bible records. Ohio Records and Pioneer Families – focuses on Ohio from pre-colonial times to the Civil War historically and accepts articles on Ohio record groups including abstracts and transcriptions of such records. Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal – features anything relating to Ohioans who served in the Civil War including post-war related activities such as reconstruction and the GAR.

The contest is open to OGS members and non-members. Both amateur and professional writers may submit articles.

Three winning articles will be selected. Winning articles will be features in the appropriate OGS journals as space permits. First place winners will receive a one-year OGS membership, a one-year subscription to ORPF and OCWGJ; second place will receive their choice of two of those items; third place will receive their choice of one of those items.

Entries will be accepted from 1 January to 28 February 2009. Send entries as hard copy or as an electronic file on CD or via email. All electronic files should be saved in Rich Text Format or in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect only. Include the following with each entry: Category (journal you wish your article to be judged), author’s name, full address, telephone number, email address and any other pertinent contact information.